garden city is one of cairo’s most central districts, starting a few blocks south of tahrir square east of the nile and running parallel to the river until the qasr el aini hospital. according to legend, the british colonialists designed its curving, tree-lined streets to confuse mobs of revolutionaries attempting to converge on the embassy. in its heyday, the area consisted of grand colonial villas and leafy gardens. many of the original buildings have been replaced by concrete apartment blocks, but enough remain to make garden city one of the most stately districts in cairo. it is inhabited by embassy staff and american university in cairo professors, who live in stuccoed apartments with high ceilings and equally high prices. there are few grocery stores, except on the traffic-clogged qasr el aini road that borders the district, and no bars or restaurants except for the well-known tabouli restaurant. the new four seasons hotel complex on the corniche has made traffic through the narrow twisting streets almost unmanageable in rush hour, but the tahrir metro station is very close. as the location for both the british and united states embassies the area has almost more police than residents.